Milan 3 Udinese 2, Bravo Huntelaar

AC MILAN VS UDINESE VIDEO HIGHLIGHT
BRAVO DINHO & HUNTELAAR


Goal : Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (7) Pato (39) Antonio Floro Flores (45) Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (57) Antonio Di Natale (86)


Ronaldinho inspired AC Milan to victory over Udinese on Friday night, warming them up for the visit of Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday with three more points in Serie A.

Although the Brazilian did not put his own name on the scoresheet, he set up all three goals as Milan regained second spot in the table.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the first after seven minutes and substitute Alexandre Pato added the second five minutes before the break.

Antonio Floro Flores gave Udinese hope with a goal on the stroke of half-time before Huntelaar's second in the 57th minute restored the home side's two-goal advantage.

Antonio Di Natale pulled Udinese back into the game in the 86th minute, but they could not find an equaliser.

Milan coach Leonardo left David Beckham on the bench for the second game running, but Alessandro Nesta was back at the heart of the defence after a three-week injury absence.

And it wasn't long before Pato entered the field too with Amantino Mancini forced off injured after just 13 minutes.

By then, Milan were ahead with a bullet header from Huntelaar, who met Ronaldinho's cross at the near post in the seventh minute.

Dida was nearly caught out by Gokhan Inler's shot which he initially fumbled before clasping. Not for the first time, and not for the last either, the Milan goalkeeper did not look too comfortable.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was watching on from the stands, will certainly have taken note.

He will also have been given a lot to ponder by Ronaldinho, who was pulling the strings in the Milan attack, setting up Pato in the 24th minute, but the linesman's offside flag was raised before the Milan striker eventually rolled the ball in.

A poor clearance from Dida gave Di Natale a gift in the 27th minute, but the Udinese striker and Serie A top goalscorer failed to take advantage as the Milan defence recovered.

There was no offside flag when another sumptuous delivery from Ronaldinho, straight into the path of Pato, set up the second goal in the 39th minute.

Udinese defender Andrea Coda succeeded partly in putting the Milan number seven off as he prepared to pull the trigger, but the ball fell kindly for Pato, who was left with a simple tap-in.

However, the Rossoneri continued to look susceptible at the back and Floro Flores headed Di Natale's cross in with the final touch of the first half.

The actual last touch of the half was Dida's as he carried the ball into his goal rather than making what should not have been too difficult a save.

Fortunately for Milan, they had Ronaldinho, who was the source of their third goal in the 57th minute.

His free-kick was met with an unintentional flick by Massimo Ambrosini and Huntelaar was on hand to fire in his second and Milan's third from close range.

Gennaro Gattuso missed the chance to wrap the game up in the 75th minute when Ronaldinho's vision and pass execution picked him out in acres of space, but Samir Handanovic blocked his shot behind for a corner.

From the corner kick, Ronaldinho's header was cleared off the line by Simone Pepe before he made way for Beckham.

Di Natale's honesty in not going down denied his side a penalty when he nudged the ball round Dida with 10 minutes remaining, but the Udinese striker was rewarded with a goal his performance deserved in the 86th minute when he beat the offside trap before beating Dida with an elegant shot.

Catania 0 - Milan 2 , 2 fantastic goal huntelaar (video highlights)

Milan win in the last minute..

Huntelaar scored his first goals with Milan's shirt with a brace in the 93rd and 95th minutes.

Catania - Andujar; Bellusci, Silvestre, Spolli, Alvarez; Biagianti, Carboni, Llama; Martinez, Mascara; Morimoto.

MILAN - Dida; Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta; Flamini, Ambrosini; Pato, Seedorf, Ronaldinho; Borriello.

here is the video/highlight :


Klaas-Jan Huntelaar sprang from the bench to lift AC Milan up to second in Serie A with two last-gasp goals to beat Catania 2-0 tonight.

In a tense and largely tame encounter at the Stadio Massimino, only Ronaldinho really managed to perform at the kind of level Milan fans have become used to from their side in recent weeks.

Catania failed to muster even one shot on goal, but they still deserved a point which was cruelly taken from them in stoppage time by Huntelaar, who broke the home fans' hearts with two goals to take Milan to within seven points of league leaders Inter Milan.

With Juve losing at Cagliari earlier today, Milan knew that a win in Sicily would take them up to second in the table and make them the nearest challenger to Inter.

But tiredness in the legs after being made to run for the full 90 minutes of their Champions League tie with Marseille on Wednesday meant they were not quite as sharp as usual.

Apart from Ronaldinho.

The Brazilian has recently found his best form since joining the Rossoneri from Barcelona almost 18 months ago and he single-handedly led Milan's search for three points.

His new-found confidence was illustrated by a number of skilful tricks, but the problem was finding team mates who could keep up with him when it came to providing the killer ball.

Clarence Seedorf offered himself as often as possible, but he was always a step behind the Brazilian playmaker and was restricted to shooting from distance by a Catania defence who constructed a wall around their penalty area.

The Dutchman found the side-netting with his first shot while his second was a few feet over the crossbar.

The closest he and either side came was in the 77th minute with his 25-yard effort just inches over the crossbar.

Catania were unable to test Milan goalkeeper Dida, but he still had to be alert in the 15th minute when Jorge Martinez was just inches away from making contact with a low cross.

Nicolas Spolli wasted a good chance to trouble Dida when he chose to just help a long ball forward rather than taking it down when he had time to do so after beating the Milan offside trap in the 71st minute.

Ronaldinho was one of the few players on the field not to show any tired legs late on and he came within millimetres of giving Milan the lead with a corner which landed directly on the top of the crossbar.

And just as it seemed like both sides had settled for a point, Milan substitute Huntelaar volleyed in his first goal for the club from edge of the area, although Catania goalkeeper Mariano Andujar will have to explain how he let the ball squirm under his body.

The goal lifted a huge burden from the Dutchman's shoulders and he added his and Milan's second moments later, lobbing Andujar from just inside the area with a goal that Ronaldinho would have been proud of.

Huntelaar to Milan!!

A.C. Milan communicate they have reached an agreement with Real Madrid for the purchase of striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. The Dutch footballer will be subjected to the medical checks tomorrow, after which he will sign a contract which will keep him at the Rossoneri club until 30 June 2013.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar:

"I'm very happy, everything's good, I will be in Milan shortly. I'm a striker who likes to play for the team, I try to help the team score, I like to play in the center of the attack, I've always scored a lot playing like that. Filippo Inzaghi? I know him, he's a great player, his history with Milan is very important. For the rest Milan have many players who have been playing at the club for a long time and that's why it's a group that can be compared with family. Certainly, no two players are the same and I'm not the same as Inzaghi. It's right that every athlete has his own characteristics."

"I am calm - Huntelaar continued - also after yesterday's words from president Berlusconi, I'm very happy to be here, I know the football and the trainings in Italy are different to Spain, but I'm ready, I want to both start training and start the new adventure itself. My favorite Milan player? In general I especially admire offensive players and Milan have many, and they're all quality. Andrea Pirlo? I'm happy he stayed. I saw him play at Euro 2008 and I understood how important he is for the teams he plays in. A dear greeting to all Milan's fans. I am very happy."

Then, in front of the many cameras and microphones present at the Malpensa airport, Huntelaar added: "I've just arrived and I don't know my program yet. Milan the club and Milan the city are special for us Dutchmen, I know Van Basten very well, he coached me at Ajax as well as the national team. Milan need to have a great season."